Today I went with my mom and nephew to see Harry Potter 6. It made me realize that I had never written about reading the 7th book. My cousin got married on Saturday (hopefully will have pics soon) so we went down to Austin for the weekend. On Saturday, my nephew stayed with us at my mom’s house so we could all go to the movie. I always wish I can see them more often, so we’re going to try to. He said he’d come stay at our house for a few days toward the middle of the month. One last outing before going back to school. Unfortunately, business cut the trip shorter than I wanted. I didn’t get to visit a bunch of friends that I was looking forward to seeing. Hopefully we can go back soon.

On to Harry Potter…

I liked this book, easily the best in the series. I’ve said it before, but I found the series hard to read in the beginning. Mostly because they were just too young for me. The books certainly improved as the series went along as well. The ending was fantastic. I like getting to the end of a series, there is always an excitement for that final scene and what it will be.

This series ended perfectly. The whole time you read you are shown again and again that Harry isn’t necessarily stronger than anyone else. Or more skilled. Instead, he just has a true heart and an honest intent. I think the ending of the series suits this perfectly. I would go to more depth, but hey, there are always people who haven’t read it yet.

Overall I would suggest the series. If you can’t get into the first book you might watch the first four movies and then read the last three books. Sounds strange to say that, but I think some people might never get to the end because of those first books.

This book was a lot of fun to read. I love the historical references. Like my own latest book, it is a tale of a what-if in America’s history. Though it is set some time before mine takes place — closer to the Revolutionary War. The magic in the book is wonderfully done as Alvin tries to discover his own abilities.

This series, titled THE TALES OF ALVIN MAKER, follows a community surrounding young Alvin, a seventh son of a seventh son. If you know anything about native american (I believe) legends, this child is fortold to be very special. Young Alvin has a tough life, a dark force has set it upon himself to destroy the child, and a force of good has decided to protect him.

I think the best parts of the book come when you are introduced to the myserious traveler and story-teller. In a way he comes to help guide the boy and though he doesn’t understand it, he tries to teach him about the powers he has. The man carries a book with quotes written from American icons such as Ben Franklin, Tom Jefferson, and more. He describes Franklin as an old wizard. It’s great.

If you are looking for a fun and quick read (it wasn’t very long), I would highly suggest this book. I’m eager to continue to the next book, if it ever arrives in the mail! I’ve picked up Harry Potter #7 to tide me over.

First things first, happy birthday to me! What a good day.

First I got up and went a fantastic job interview. On the way I got into a really long conversation with my sister in Houston about education and her kids; it was fitting on the way to an interview at a school.  It was great to talk to her, we are always so busy we lose touch from time to time. The job interview was a lot of fun. (how often do you get to say that…) The Vice-President of Continuing Education (what a mouth full) couldn’t have been nicer. And she was very impressed with me, that was a nice bonus. She didn’t have any problem at all looking over my resume and asking me if I would like to not only work with kids for her Summer program, but if I wanted to be one of her teachers. She said most people with no experience want to start with being assistant teachers, so I felt honored when she asked if I would be interested in teaching by myself. And of course I had no problem reaching higher and accepting the offer! The subject? I get to teach Web Design to seventh, eighth, and ninth graders (I think). It sounds like a lot of fun, and I have already started thinking of my lesson plan (which has to be approved).

Then, I got home to a blog post about myself from my wife. Ah, to be in the public eye. But I want to be a successful writer, self-promotion and visibility online is one major aspect of that. She bought me an awesome tie for my birthday, so the post was also to show that.  The Etsy shop that she bought it from, Toybreaker, makes very cool ties.

Then more fun when two of my Amazon orders came. Those technically were Christmas presents, but because of the day I will pretend they were birthday, thanks Mom! I found an old friend on facebook recently and she suggested a book, that’s how I remembered I had a lot of the gift card still, so I guess thanks Nat too! I got that book, and about 5 more.

Which leads to the conclusion, my latest reading. I haven’t gotten to do nearly enough lately. This book, THE SUCCESSFUL NOVELIST, by David Morrell was hands down the best book on writing that I have read. Instead of telling how to write, he shows you mistakes and lessons of a long and very successful career. To those who do not know, Morrell (FIRST BLOOD–RAMBO, FRATERNITY OF THE STONE) writes mostly espionage. His books are great, I would highly recommend them. The book probably would seem crushing to some idealists. It’s very blunt about exactly how hard it is to be a writer professionally. It also stamps out silly hopes of exactly what fame means. My favorite example was the major book warehouse he visited where they decide the top-20 books section. The man choosing picked his tops because he thought the colors of the covers looked good together… you just gotta love that. In all, I would highly recommend the book to all aspiring authors.

The title is dedicated to my wife, who loves Alliteration. Thanks for the great Bday!

We had a great holiday. It actually ended only today.  We have been out of the state since the 23rd, and I have to say it feels great to be home. Of course, there were errands galore to attend to when we got here..but those are done and I have had plenty of rest.

Some may have noticed, all of the past posts have disappeared from the blog.  Well, as a Xmas present to myself, I upgraded this website to a dedicated hosting server.  I could have backed up the old posts and loaded them up, but I thought it would be more fun to just start everything over. Finishing my Young Adult novel has given me an enthusiastic boost.  And this feels like a new beginning for me, I like it!

On the trip I managed to finish two books:

Brandon Sanderson’s The Final Empire, book two of the Mistborn trilogy

I am increasingly more impressed with Sanderson’s work. Like many people, I found him because he was Harriet’s (wife of the late author of the Wheel of Time) choice to write the end of that series. Anybody who’s read his interviews and his blog know well what the series meant to him and it can be seen in his writing. I would recommend the series to anyone interested in the High Fantasy genre. Take special note of his magic systems. In all his works they are new and very interesting.

Emma Bull’s War For the Oaks
This book was simply amazing. The most interesting thing about it was how very similar it is the novel I just finished writing! The only major difference is that mine takes place about 100 years before this one does. Bull’s language and imagery make this one that you won’t want to miss.